The Poe Consequence

Are you a fan of Edgar Allan Poe? Are you an admirer of his murderous journeys through madness and the macabre? Professor Warren Palmer is. And for the two L.A. street gangs responsible for his murder, class is now in session.

Synopsis

In a section of Los Angeles near Dodger Stadium, two rival gangs rule the streets. For the Alvarado Street Diablos, it’s been a year since the murder of one of their closest members at the hands of their sworn enemy, the North Rampart Lobos. A drive-by killing in his honor is planned, but things go wrong and an innocent bystander is the victim. Several hours later the one who pulled the trigger suffers a horrifying death never before seen in its uniqueness. Many more such cases follow, all involving only these two gangs among the hundreds throughout the city. And each death occurs at the same time of day. The exact same time of day.

What can these two enemies do to survive against an unstoppable power intent on their mutual destruction? How is a gang-hating young boy’s attempt to save the life of a gang member tied into preventing a loved one’s soul from eternal damnation? What does a mysterious psychic’s prophecy conveyed earlier in New Orleans have to do with all of this?

Exploring both the hope and darkness that define our emotions, The Poe Consequence integrates social and ethnic divisions through acts of fate and supernatural horror for the reader to observe and imagine.

Reviews

“It's amazing to realize that this is a first novel for Steinbaum. He brings the literary horror message from Poe, and in particular The Tell Tale Heart, and adds it to street lit gang banger activities directly from the L.A. streets! Got to say I loved the concept, the story line, and implementation merge of today's world with the one present during Poe's time. Whew! The Poe Consequence is scary, eloquent, weird, literary writing at its finest and a story worthy, in my opinion, of being a follow-up to Poe's classics!”

Glenda Bixler, Book Reader's Heaven

"Taking on Poe is a tough challenge, but Keith Steinbaum handles it well... The surprise for me was the underlying theme of predjudice. Steinbaum dives right in and handles this incredibly well. The story never gets preachy. In fact, the realism is striking. We aren’t handed a magical, fairy tale solution. Instead, we’re shown the injustice of it in a way that makes it understandable, almost forgivable, but never tolerable."

Darcia Helle, Author of Enemies and Playmates

About the Author

As a professional lyricist, Keith co-wrote songs that have been heard throughout the world. He is also a published poet, with several of his poems appearing in various anthologies. Winner of Books-And-Authors.net’s Book of the Year in the Supernatural Thriller Genre, The Poe Consequence is his first novel. He is currently working on a second story – a murder mystery involving an ex-rock ‘n roll star and a little girl fighting cancer who is a big fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. Keith lives in the Los Angeles County area, and is married with two grown children.

ABOUT LITFIRE

LitFire is a provider of self-publishing solutions for authors around the world. Choose from a wide range of Black & White and Full-Color publishing packages to turn your manuscript into a beautiful, full-length book. We are committed to delivering high-quality, results-oriented services to produce and distribute your book in paperback, hardcover, or digital format. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive inside news, promotions, and the best of our publishing advice and tips.